PSLF revisions: New budget proposal screws anyone in PI. Forum

[worldtraveler]

according to that forbes article from a while ago in the thread, only 630k borrowers have used IBR/PAYE as of this year. i just don't think the data bears out the costs people are assuming ITT. the vast majority of borrowers either repay their loans without assistance or default. that's why IBR was created in the first place. i mean i'm sympathetic to the incentives argument and i think the Georgetown example shows that law schools are using these programs to try to maintain enrollment when maybe they should be lowering tuition but i'm just not buying that loan repayment programs are some lodestone dragging the US into default.

The bigger problem is that students from for-profit schools have huge default rates and can't pay their loans. What they really need to do is stop giving federal money to go to the University of Phoenix.

exactly. the whole point of IBR was to prevent defaults. it doesn't appear to be doing a great job for whatever reason (probably because the whole system is confusing as fuck for the average grad) but that's a different issue

Someone with tech skills needs to develop a turbo tax style website for people getting enrolled on the correct plan. I would definitely pay money to have someone guide me to fill out the forms with easy questions instead of the insanity I have to deal with now.

[twenty]

Frankly, I doubt any changes will impact those matriculating this Fall. It's likely CO '18 that will guinea-pig.

Even then, all a particularly clever CO18er has to do is take out 1-2k in student loans to attend an online community college class over the summer. Oh look, now they're a prior borrower, so they get to use old-PSLF/old-PAYE for any federal loans they'll have after that.

[worldtraveler]

Frankly, I doubt any changes will impact those matriculating this Fall. It's likely CO '18 that will guinea-pig.

Even then, all a particularly clever CO18er has to do is take out 1-2k in student loans to attend an online community college class over the summer. Oh look, now they're a prior borrower, so they get to use old-PSLF/old-PAYE for any federal loans they'll have after that.

This is all assuming that people are attending knowing they will need PAYE/PSLF though. A lot of people end up in PI/GOV careers that don't really plan on it prior to law school.

[cron1834]

Frankly, I doubt any changes will impact those matriculating this Fall. It's likely CO '18 that will guinea-pig.

Even then, all a particularly clever CO18er has to do is take out 1-2k in student loans to attend an online community college class over the summer. Oh look, now they're a prior borrower, so they get to use old-PSLF/old-PAYE for any federal loans they'll have after that.

This is all assuming that people are attending knowing they will need PAYE/PSLF though. A lot of people end up in PI/GOV careers that don't really plan on it prior to law school.

Of course true. But for every system, there are gamers. Not least of which include the schools themselves.

[patogordo]

Frankly, I doubt any changes will impact those matriculating this Fall. It's likely CO '18 that will guinea-pig.

Even then, all a particularly clever CO18er has to do is take out 1-2k in student loans to attend an online community college class over the summer. Oh look, now they're a prior borrower, so they get to use old-PSLF/old-PAYE for any federal loans they'll have after that.

This is all assuming that people are attending knowing they will need PAYE/PSLF though. A lot of people end up in PI/GOV careers that don't really plan on it prior to law school.

Of course true. But for every system, there are gamers. Not least of which include the schools themselves.

also, no one will ever do this

[The Dark Shepard]

I know there's a good chance I will need PAYE/PSLF. This makes me nervous. About to enter my 1L year this fall...how will that shake out for me?

[Cal Trask]

I know there's a good chance I will need PAYE/PSLF. This makes me nervous. About to enter my 1L year this fall...how will that shake out for me?

Nobody knows, dude.

[bjsesq]

Have called every senator and rep I have. Nobody available to speak with me yet.

[twenty]

also, no one will ever do this

*raises hand*
*sees no one else is raising hand*
*pretends to swat at a fly with raised hand*

[LSL]

Have called every senator and rep I have. Nobody available to speak with me yet.

No luck here yet either. Also, here is the list of people (sorted by party) on the US Senate Committee on Health, Education, & Labor Pensions. People should call them.

Democrats by Rank

Tom Harkin (IA)
Barbara A. Mikulski (MD)
Patty Murray (WA)
Bernard Sanders (I) (VT)
Robert P. Casey, Jr. (PA)
Kay R. Hagan (NC)
Al Franken (MN)
Michael F. Bennet (CO)
Sheldon Whitehouse (RI)
Tammy Baldwin (WI)
Christopher S. Murphy (CT)
Elizabeth Warren (MA)

Republicans by Rank

Lamar Alexander (TN)
Michael B. Enzi (WY)
Richard Burr (NC)
Johnny Isakson (GA)
Rand Paul (KY)
Orrin G. Hatch (UT)
Pat Roberts (KS)
Lisa Murkowski (AK)
Mark Kirk (IL)
Tim Scott (SC)

[anyriotgirl]

Have called every senator and rep I have. Nobody available to speak with me yet.

No luck here yet either. Also, here is the list of people (sorted by party) on the US Senate Committee on Health, Education, & Labor Pensions. People should call them.

Democrats by Rank

Tom Harkin (IA)
Barbara A. Mikulski (MD)
Patty Murray (WA)
Bernard Sanders (I) (VT)
Robert P. Casey, Jr. (PA)
Kay R. Hagan (NC)
Al Franken (MN)
Michael F. Bennet (CO)
Sheldon Whitehouse (RI)
Tammy Baldwin (WI)
Christopher S. Murphy (CT)
Elizabeth Warren (MA)

Republicans by Rank

Lamar Alexander (TN)
Michael B. Enzi (WY)
Richard Burr (NC)
Johnny Isakson (GA)
Rand Paul (KY)
Orrin G. Hatch (UT)
Pat Roberts (KS)
Lisa Murkowski (AK)
Mark Kirk (IL)
Tim Scott (SC)

Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) isn't on this committee, but has been plugging a plan of hers to allow people to refinance student loans at 4% interest. New Yorkers may want to contact her office specifically.

[twenty]

Democrats by Rank

Tom Harkin (IA) --LinkRemoved--
Barbara A. Mikulski (MD) http://www.mikulski.senate.gov/contact/ ... pinion.cfm
Patty Murray (WA) http://www.murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contactme
Bernard Sanders (I) (VT) http://www.sanders.senate.gov/contact/comment
Robert P. Casey, Jr. (PA) http://www.casey.senate.gov/contact
Kay R. Hagan (NC) http://www.hagan.senate.gov/contact/
Al Franken (MN) https://www.franken.senate.gov/?p=email_al
Michael F. Bennet (CO) http://www.bennet.senate.gov/contact/email
Sheldon Whitehouse (RI) http://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/contact
Tammy Baldwin (WI) http://www.baldwin.senate.gov/contact
Christopher S. Murphy (CT) http://www.murphy.senate.gov/contact
Elizabeth Warren (MA) http://www.warren.senate.gov/?p=email_senator

Thanks TLS. I've included links to all of their "contact us" pages.

I'll get the GOP ones later.

[bjsesq]

Is it finally non-ironic to say "Thanks Obama"?

[Tanicius]

Is it finally non-ironic to say "Thanks Obama"?

No joke, my SO and I were ranting about him well past our bedtime last night.

[worldtraveler]

Tom Harkin has been trying to better regulate for-profit universities and and lower student debt for a long time.

We really should target him before he retires.

[Cal Trask]

Tom Harkin has been trying to better regulate for-profit universities and and lower student debt for a long time.

We really should target him before he retires.

What do lobbyists cost these days anyways? Maybe this could be a better use of TLS crowdfunding than flying people out to smang.

[Tanicius]

Tom Harkin has been trying to better regulate for-profit universities and and lower student debt for a long time.

We really should target him before he retires.

What do lobbyists cost these days anyways? Maybe this could be a better use of TLS crowdfunding than flying people out to smang.

Let's all put in ten bucks and proposition Ken to cover the other 98% of the costs.

[Dingo Starr]

What do lobbyists cost these days anyways? Maybe this could be a better use of TLS crowdfunding than flying people out to smang.

I haven't heard back from Karl Rove yet.

[Cal Trask]

Let's all put in ten bucks and proposition Ken to cover the other 98% of the costs.

I mean, if we proposition the right people we may not even need to hire a lobbyist.

ETA: If you know what I'm saying.

[t-14orbust]

Not a PI bro but still interested in what effects this will have. Can someone tl;dr for me so that I may warn my PI bros?

[Tanicius]

More from Heather Jarvis:

http://askheatherjarvis.com/blog/will-p ... ting-borro

[sd5289]

So this means that public service jobs will be limited to students who can afford to pay law school tuition, or can get a full ride somewhere. Which seems to defeat the purpose of having PSLF, since those students could always afford to go into public service.

Jesus.

This is precisely why I took the full ride at the lower ranked school even knowing that PSLF existed. It was sort of a "worst case scenario" decision, but I never imagined that scenario would come true.

[bjsesq]

More from Heather Jarvis:

http://askheatherjarvis.com/blog/will-p ... ting-borro

I wish she would be less non-committal, but at least she makes good arguments in my favor.

[twenty]

I sent an email to Harkin's office.

Good afternoon Senator Harkin,

I'm not an Iowa resident, but my concern represents thousands of other Iowa residents.

In the President's proposed budget for 2015, the proposal seeks to limit the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program to a mere $57,500 upon completion of 10 years of public service. Unfortunately, law and medical students are required to take out significantly more than $57,500 dollars in student loans in order to finance their educations in this era of increasing tuition costs, which forces these graduates into private sector positions.

Furthermore, these changes occur retroactively under the current proposal, which means that students that took out federal loans in 2007-2013 and planned on working ten years in the public sector will have the rug pulled out from underneath them.

At the minimum, I would urge Congress to include a provision that "grandfathers in" borrowers that have outstanding federal student loans prior to July 1, 2015. That said, this proposal still ensures that future generations of graduate/law/medical students will be locked out of government/public interest/military service in order to service their student loan debt, so it is preferable to eliminate the cap entirely.

Thank you for your time,
-twentypercentmore

[twenty]

More from Heather Jarvis:

http://askheatherjarvis.com/blog/will-p ... ting-borro

If this is true, and the budget proposal is just some policy wanker blowing smoke out of his/her ass, that'd be fantastic.